Bell Textron Wins $2.2B ARH Competition With 407 Variant

Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. of Fort Worth, TX received a $210.7 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for the system development and demonstration (SDD) of the U.S. Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) program, including sub-system integration and testing as well as training-device development (W58RGZ-05-C-0234). Work on the Bell LRH SDD contract will be performed at Fort Worth, TX and is estimated to be complete on Sept. 30, 2008. There were 11 bids solicited on Dec. 8, 2004, and two bids were received. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal, AL issued the contract.

The ARH-70 Armed Reconaissance Helicopter is a program by the United States Army to replace around 375 Bell Textron OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters (first fielded in 1985), and fill the role initially proposed for the RAH-66 Comanche (cancelled in 2004). Bell Helicopter Textron won the competition, and the contract calls for 368 ARH aircraft during FY 2006 through FY 2013, at a unit cost of approximately $6 million per vs. the much more advanced Comanche’s estimated $36 million unit cost…

Advertisement

The ARH Program Winner: Bell’s 407

For additional information regarding the ARH program and the ARH-70 Helciopter, see DID’s updated FOCUS Article:

The Bell 407 variant’s main rival in the ARH competition was a highly modified version of the commercial MD 530 light helicopter made by MDHI. On 05 February 2005, two days before submitting a bid for the ARH, Boeing signed an agreement to make a multimillion-dollar cash investment in ailing manufacturer MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI). Boeing proposed upgrading the AH-6J/ MH-6J Mission Enhancement Little Bird (MELB) platform. It would be similar to the aircraft already in service with the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM), but feature a rearranged cabin, a four-blade ‘scissor’ tail-rotor configuration and a new mission avionics fit. Boeing would be the prime contractor, performing integration at its AH-64D Longbow Apache plant which is located adjacent to MDHI’s Mesa, AZ plant.